Resurrection, take one

As posted originally on Facebook: the dreaded 25-things-about-me-you-may-not-know list:

1. I regularly make lists of my top ten favorite people just so I can track how my preferences change over time.

2. I've been to Iceland. twice.

3. I like to eavesdrop on people in public spaces. Sometimes I wear headphones for no reason just to make it look like I am not listening.

4. I once bit my orthodontist's hand when she was messing around with my braces. I played it off as an accident, but let's be honest: you'd have some pent up frustrations, too, if you had had braces for seven and a half years.

5. I am kind of in love with Ira Glass, and when I found out he lived in New York (while I was also living there), I started carrying around a resume with me wherever I went... just in case I ran into him. (I also sent him an email in college, asking him to be our commencement speaker. Just to make things easier for him, I attached mapquest directions from Chicago to Winston-Salem.)

6. I am extremely ticklish… to the point that I will inadvertently injure myself or others to get away from the assault.

7. I lived in six different places in 2008.

8. I've never had a boyfriend. nope. not even in second grade. not even for a week.

9. I dreamt I was a lesbian. twice. But even in those dreams, it was clear that my heart was not in it.

10. I had to take a hunting safety class in order to graduate from high school.

11. I only shower every other day, and I'd probably shower less often if it were socially acceptable. As much as I love how hot water feels on my skin, I hate being wet and cold after it's done. On a related note, after taking showers in the dark for a couple of years (because I heard it improves your coordination), I now shower by candlelight.

12. I didn't drink a single beer until after I was 21.

13. When I was about 8, I became a brownie because I was under the impression that I'd get to bake the cookies and eat as many as I could stand to eat. I quit a week later when I found out that was not the case.

14. I seriously hate the question, "What's up?" and will inevitably always say, “Oh… nothing much” because I just have no figured out how to respond to it. Anything is better: “How are you?” “What have you been up to?” etc.

15. I worry that my former self would see my current self as crazy while simultaneously worrying that I used to be crazy. This is a confusing affair.

16. I was so violently ill one morning on my way to Sweden that I literally pooped in my pants because the ONLY restroom at the train station was occupied for at least the 25 minutes I spent waiting desperately outside the door. Despite my setback, I still somehow made it to Sweden that day, and spent the rest of the weekend biking and canoeing around the countryside.

17. Although I am typically an easy-going and mellow individual, I actually really like to argue and have something to get pissed off about.

18. I avoid swearing at all costs. I know it’s weird. It’s just one of those things that stuck with me. I think this relates in some ways to my enormous guilt complex.

19. I am very much annoyed that plaid has taken off so much because it makes me feel like a poser or a tool whenever I wear it (which is about 4 days a week since I have no money to shop).

20. I have not worn makeup since 7th grade. I know it makes me look young, but I guess I feel like as long as I look younger than I am, I don't have to act like an adult yet. (same logic applies to how I dress.)

21. I take comfort in the routine, the familiar, and the predictable. One of my favorite things is knowing someone so well that I can predict what outfit they will wear for any given occasion.

22. I can't read in my room... or do anything productive for that matter. It's not a problem if I'm in other peoples' rooms... just my own. It's a weird psychological thing. My room is for sleeping and watching movies. That's pretty much it... and composing my identity on facebook of course.

23. I got food poisoning at Disney World when I was 10 from a bad hot dog. That, and a trip to Myrtle Beach once were literally the ONLY two vacations my family ever went on... and I loathe Myrtle Beach.

24. I have made it a life goal to read all six volumes of Proust's masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time

25. I judge people based on what kind of music they listen to, how they dress, how loudly they speak, what kind of shoes they wear, and how much tv they watch. That said, if I like someone, I let things slide for them that I would condemn in someone I didn't like. I know it's bad to be judgemental, but I enjoy it too much to stop it.